With growth comes some growing pains, and one of those is balancing our 2 Sunday morning services at 9:30 & 11. This past Sunday, there were 40% more people in the second service than the first. So, while we were packed out at 11, there were plenty of seats open at 9:30.

So I’m asking those of you who call The Connection Church your home to make what we call a “missionary move” to the early service.  This will help balance the services and provide someone with a much-needed chair. It will also help us stave off our inevitable jump to 3 services for a while longer.

So for clarity, if you’ve been attending the 2^nd service, would you please adjust your schedule to attend the 1^st service? You can always stick around and serve during the second hour if you’d like.

When you get there early, the donuts and coffee are fresher. See you this Sunday morning at 9:30!

* By the way, I can’t wait for the day when we get our own chairs, and enough of them, to go along with our new location. And of course, those will come as we give toward our vision of seeing our county changed one life at a time!

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God is at work through us. On Thanksgiving weekend, a Sunday that’s usually one of the lowest attended Sunday’s of the year, we actually were up by 50 people from the previous week! And still, we saw so many new faces!

NEW SERIES STARTS THIS WEEK

This week, we’re kicking off a new series called When Love Comes To Town. Yes, it’s a great U2 song (and our band will be serving up some nice music by one of the greatest bands in history), but it’s really about when God’s Love entered the world in the most humble way to an obscure village and the change that He brought to the world. This is going to be a great week to invite your family and friends to experience a better Christmas than ever before.

CONNECTION CHRISTMAS SERVICES

We want to bring God’s Love to our world in some very specific ways, including what’s become a Hays County tradition: Connection Christmas services, happening on 2 nights this year! Just like our other BIG events, it’s going to take us stepping up as a church to serve at one of the services (and attending a different service). We’ve heard so many times that people are more open to the Gospel at Christmas than at any other time of the year. Let’s leverage that for God’s Kingdom by pulling out all the stops for these services! You can get your FREE tickets here. The tickets each represent a seat, so get all that you need and only what you’re going to use. Children Pre-K and under don’t need a ticket for FREE childcare.

NO SERVICES ON THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Also, we won’t be having services on December 26th, the Sunday after Christmas, as a way to say “Thanks!” to our staff and volunteers for working so hard the week before Christmas and all through the year so they can travel, unplug, and be with their families. Not to mention, it will give us a running start for the incredible year that is in front of us.

CHRISTMAS OFFERING TO GIVE THE GIFT OF WATER

This week, we’re also kicking off our annual Presence Offering. I’m really pumped about giving to provide a well with safe, clean water for a town full of people. Literally, we’ll be saving lives this year. The rest of the offering will go to further the work we’re doing here locally through TCC. The Birthday Boy deserves our best gift because He is the best Gift ever given! You can give right here or bring your offering with you to worship.

There’s more that we’re doing too. The Buda Trail of Lights with a live nativity, the Angel Tree, and more, so keep watching for more details. Are you ready? Let’s do this!!!

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Every endeavor, job, project, even relationship, has a dip, that place where moving forward gets difficult. That’s a good thing, because most people give up or go average when facing the dip.  So, you can be the best in whatever you are doing if you are willing to pay the price of the dip, simply because most people don’t.

Right now, I, along with all of us at The Connection Church, are faced with a serious dip, a challenge that separates the place of average from reaching our destiny. As we are getting into the toughest part of the new building, things are going to be harder before they get easier. The finances are tighter because the majority of our resources have already been invested. Many of those who’ve been working long hours on construction are getting tired or in some cases even sick.

But now is not the time to let up. It’s the time to press through, to keep advancing, to keep working, to step up our financial investments in this work. To make it through a dip, you have to ask, “Is it worth what it will take to make it through to the other side?” Without a doubt, 100%!!! Because, on the other side, is the place of incredible impact and life-change that God is calling us to. And, by God’s power, we will succeed, together.

What Dip are you facing right now? Press through to victory!

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Let’s see if you can guess:

Yes, the answer of course is “3″! At 9, 10:15, and 11:30. With a 15 minute passing period in-between.

And we’re going to continue offering these 3 service times throughout the “CHAINged” series for 5 weeks. Then, our prayer is that we’ll be ready to move into the new building on Mother’s Day and move back to 2 services.

Why 3 services when we’re so close to moving locations? Well, when you get down to it, that’s the reason! It would be easy to just coast until we make the move. But now is not the time to slack up or be comfortable. We have to make room for the people who will be coming for Easter and as a result of our connections through The Big Hunt. Our setup time will still be at 7am, we’ll just need all hands on deck to hustle to create the TCC environment.

You can commit to come to the early service (9am) so we’ll have the seats available during the prime times of 10:30 and 11:15. You can even stick around for one or both of the other times to serve.

So how many services? Bottom line: We’ll have as many services as it takes to see Hays County changed one life at a time!

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TCC's First Celebration at Hemphill

Sunday was a great day of victory with our first day at our new temporary location. There was a great “feel” with many new faces. The vibe was a return to the days when we used to meet at Tobias. So I want to give you the top 10 reasons we like being at Hemphill for now:

10) It gets us Lean, Mean, and Back to Basics. We get to remember that we’re not about buildings.  At the core, we’re all about seeing lives changed. TCC has never been about all the bells and whistles. We’re flexible and can adapt to whatever environment we’re in. We’re going to see more growth while we’re at Hemphill.
9) The Bathrooms are “Fun-Sized.” Only in an elementary school can you relive your early years of school with miniature toilets.
There’s more Freedom and Less Rush. Now, we’ve got more time to connect with each other in a relaxed atmosphere, something that TCC has always been about. This move helps us do what we do best.
7) Indoor Baptism! We can move into the warm school for baptism instead of being outside in the freezing cold. Sign up for our next baptism on January 31st.
6) Serve a Service, Attend a Service. Moving to a smaller meeting space gets us back where everyone can serve every week and still get to be a part of worship. Are you plugged into a ministry team?
5) Interactive Sermons. Yes, occasionally I accidentally spit when I’m speaking. When we are this close, everyone can personally get involved in the message.
4) Saving Money. Because it’s not as expensive to rent the school, we’re able to save the difference to invest in our soon-to-be location. Give online here.
3) No More Rattlesnakes. By the time we left the PAC, there had been over 30 rattlesnakes found since the start of school this year. We even found one in Volunteer Central.
2) A Missionary Move for our Future. AT TCC, we do Whatever It Takes to fulfill God’s vision. It’s never about our comfort. It prepares us for our future, but while we’re there, we want to reach as many people in the surrounding area as possible.

And the number 1 reason we’re glad to be at Hemphill for now is:

1) Coffee and Donuts in the Service. Yes, now you can stay hyped up on caffeine and sugar during the Celebration Service!

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You have to sing this post title to the tune of the Subway jingle. And by great, I’m not talking about TCC being great (though I believe it is), I’m talking about how great our God is who thought up TCC and who has made it all possible, at least the parts that are good.

Sunday was the celebration of the 5th Birthday of The Connection Church. Actually, we launched on September 12, 2004 with 145 people at our first weekly service. I laugh when I think back to that time when I was so clueless about the experiences and friendships God had in store for me and so many others who’ve come along on this journey, so far. I can honestly say that if I had the chance to do it over again, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

On Sunday, we got together to celebrate the difference that God has made in each of our lives through this family of faith. We met at Texas Old Town in a building that they built this last year. Thanks to Rene Rodriguez and Shep West, the signs clearly pointed the way from the PAC to the party. In a venue that was smaller than our usual room, the atmosphere was electric. We actually had a major jump in attendance that I know is an affirmation of good things to come in the months ahead. We also saw some guests and some faces we hadn’t seen in a while. The band was in the groove and led us right to the throne of God. The community was in sync with one passionate purpose. And the brisket was without a doubt the very best I’ve ever tasted thanks to Andy Rhoades and Eric Oineon. While I’m giving props (of which I’m leaving tons of people out) I also want to mention Trey and Jen for coordinating the lunch details. And it was topped off with a personalized TCC logo cake made by Frances Geiger with a little guy that looked a little like Charlie Brown, but I’m pretty sure was me due to the tie-dye psychadelic shirt. That was a loving tribute that was a little scary that she nailed my fashion sense so spot on.

Today, I feel like we are still just now getting started and seeing glimpses of the future that God has planned for TCC and this region. I’m so thankful for the connectors at TCC! Let’s ramp it up and make the connection!

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Sticky Church

I just finished reading my first full ebook on the Kindle that Pam gave me for my birthday. I was amazed at how fast I was able to fly through this one and I’m not sure if it was due to the format or the content, but suffice it to say that Larry Osborne’s Sticky Church was paradigm shifting for me on many levels.

Larry Osborne pastors North Coast Church in Vista, California and has grown the church from 128 people in the early 80s to now over 7000 people.

He writes that while there are some churches that are very good at getting people to come through the front door, many of them are ineffective at helping people stick around long enough to develop fully devoted followers of Christ. Sticky Church focuses on the importance of closing the back door through an effective small group ministry. I think he’s onto something.

A lot of what we’re already doing was affirmed in this book, but there were so many ideas that I received from this book that I’m excited about putting them into practice this Fall. At The Connection Church, our purpose for Connection Groups has always been to help people connect with each other in authentic relationships. That will not change. But Osborne’s ideas have given me some tools to facilitate this happening on a larger scale.

Sticky Church offers time-tested principles for recruiting and training leaders as well as practical programming ideas for churches to take their groups to the next level. If you’re a small group leader in your church, let me encourage you to get your hands on this book. Good stuff!

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Each Easter, we do a spiritual survey to mark where each person is in their walk with God. This year, over 200 people participated in the survey. To do this, we include the letters A, B, C, and D on our Connection Cards. I let everyone know that if they are Accepting Christ today, to mark “A.” If they have Been a Christian Before today, mark “B.” If they are Considering the Claims of Christ, mark “C.” And if they Don’t ever plan to accept Christ, mark “D.” They also have the option of renewing their commitment to Christ. This graph illustrates the responses:

Easter Responses at The Connection Church

The most important number here is the 29 people who stepped across the line of faith yesterday, into an eternal connection with Christ! That’s what it’s all about! That’s why we are here! Make no mistake, these 29 people responded to God’s call to become a part of His family and they are now part of our family. Connection Church, because of your commitment to reaching people, 29 eternal destinies were changed yesterday!

We will also be following up with the 16 people who want more info on what it means to follow Christ. Be praying for them as they take these next steps in their spiritual journey. I’m believing they will also open their hearts and lives to Jesus very soon.

And I know that of the many people we reached out to at The Big Hunt and through our mailers, some of them will be coming in the next few weeks. We’re not going to let up in our effort to create a place where people have the best chance to connect with God!

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As we ramp up to Easter at The Connection Church, we’re making our own list of God’s Most Wanted. These are the people that God has placed on our hearts. The people that we care about the most who need to experience God’s forgiveness, purpose, and hope for the future. Last Sunday, we closed our services with a chance to write their names on the list.

What an awesome moment when people flooded to the front to write these names. Just the process of putting the names down was one of faith and expectation. It was also a commitment to pray daily for them specifically and to personally invite them to come to TCC. I saw men write the name of their wives. Ladies wrote the name of their husbands. Kids wrote their parents name on the List. People wrote the names of their friends, coworkers and neighbors. I know without a doubt that as much as we want to see them come to Jesus, God wants them even more!

Famous Last Words – God’s Most Wanted LIST from The Connection Church on Vimeo.

We’re putting the lists up each week in the lobby so we can see the names and add to them until Easter. When the person that you’re reaching out comes to the service with you, you can take them up to their name and show them how much you wanted them there. We want everyone to celebrate what God is doing to change lives!

So who’s on your list? Join us in praying and reaching out this year as we prepare for Easter.

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